For the Future

I’m sorry for the paucity of posts the last few weeks, at least on my part. Pete and I found out a few weeks ago that his Aunt Rose was dying from cancer. That sort of took the wind out of our sails. We rushed to Connecticut to say goodbye, but Rose died a few hours before we landed. We wish we could have held her hand one more time, but it wasn’t to be. It was good to be surrounded by family and friends – when we weren’t crying we were laughing. Somehow, that made losing Rose a little easier to take.

After the calling hours, Pete and I were heading back to his sister’s. Off on the horizon was a beautiful thunderhead all illuminated by the sun, shining in glorious peach, silver and pink. Pete said that it was Rose passing. I’ve found myself thinking these past few days about life and how it goes on, and what’s important is the legacy that one leaves behind. Rose left behind a lot of laughter and a selflessness that I’ve never seen in anyone else. She was always willing to do anything she could. That was what she left behind: wonderful memories. Of course, I wondered what I would leave behind – and thought of this Arboretum and all of the beautiful trees we’ve planted. Fifty years from now, the trees will have grown so much, providing shade and beauty to the neighborhood.

What do you think about this weather? All the rain that we got was so good for the trees we put in the ground this spring. I felt like I was living in Seattle! But I’ve always loved rainy weather, so I was very happy. I wasn’t so happy about the weeds, which loved all the water, too, especially what I call sour grass. It looks like clover with three leaves and yellow flowers. It’s everywhere! I feel like I pull one plant and 25 more show up. And now it’s too hot to do much outside at all! I’ve been watering a few things here and there, but most plants are hanging in there pretty well. The native plants in the back yard are as vibrant and stunning as I’ve ever seen. But those plants tend to go with the flow as far as dealing with whatever weather Ohio send their way.